The Didi Hamann interview: Drinking with Dunphy, Klopp criticism, Kenny project

Hamann is an automatic starter on the RTÉ panel for the World Cup final with his blend of principle and pragmatism, his unflinching and forthright views and wider European perspective

SERIOUS MEN: Didi Hamann with Damien Duff and Richie Sadlier in the RTE studio

We catch Dietmar ‘Didi’ Hamann just after he’s arrived into Dublin on an early-morning flight and though it’s hardly the ideal setting for an interview – over the phone while he’s still on the move – we’re instantly reminded why we wanted an audience with him and why RTÉ have been bringing him over for a dozen years now.

Asked where he’s flown in from and he says that he relocated to Munich in the wake of Brexit after two full decades living in the UK.